Sovaldi - a "Revolution" in Clinical Care, or in Marketing and Public Relations?

DiscussionWashington Post/ Kaiser Health NewsOn May 12, 2014, in an article on the dilemma the drug's US price of $1000/ pill presents to Medicare, Richard Knox wrote this about a patient with the infection:Previous drug treatments didn't clear the virus from Bianco's system. But it's almost certain that potent new drugs for hep-C could cure him. In other words, the article asserted that Sovaldi and similar drugs cure nearly everyone with hepatitis C, even those not cured by previous treatment.  ReutersOn May 20, 2014, in an article about how US health insurers are balking at the price of Sovaldi, was this statement by the main trade organization for US for-profit health care insurers, America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP),Sovaldi has shown tremendous results, and it's the kind of medical innovation we need to sustain. In the article's text was the assertion,The new drug has demonstrated an ability to cure well over 90 percent of patients in just 12 weeks or less with few side effects.Prior to the Sovaldi approval, hepatitis C treatments took 24 or 48 weeks, cured about 75 percent of patients and involved many more pills as well as injectable interferon that causes flu-like symptoms and other side effects that led many people to avoid or discontinue treatment.In other words, the article asserted that Sovaldi can cure over 90% of patients compared to the cure rate of 75% provided by previously available treatments, and implied Sovaldi has fewer side effects....
Source: Health Care Renewal - Category: Health Management Tags: evidence-based medicine Gilead health care prices manipulating clinical research Sovaldi You heard it here first Source Type: blogs